With the spell of good weather continuing
, we again visited Rogers
Pass and climbed the ‘Jones Route’
(western most buttress) on the south face of Mnt Tupper. Parked at the
Hermit parking area, then scrambled to the base of the buttress in two hours. Unlike
Mt. McDonald a few days earlier, the snow in
the gullies on the south aspects is disappearing quickly and what remains was
too firm to allow for good step kicking.
The route itself consisted of 16ish
pitches of up to 5.9 climbing, blessed with a healthier coating of lichen than
most routes could ever dream of! A standard rack up to a #3 Camelot and
rock shoes were definitely appreciated. Although it had a few
redeeming pitches, in hindsight, overall not a route I could recommend.
Beautiful to look at, but hard to establish any sense of climbing ‘flow’.
Put it on your ‘B’ list when you’re looking for
something different and expect a full day with an early start.
Descent down the normal West Ridge, then
over to Hermit Meadows and down the trail. Snowline is now just above the
campground, with the tent platforms pretty much melted out.
Cheers,
Paul Norrie
ACMG
Mountain
Guide